A Stroke Support Facility provides resuscitation, stabilization and assessment of stroke patients and either provides treatment or arranges for immediate transfer to a higher level of stroke care, such as CHI St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital. It also provides ongoing educational opportunities in stroke-related topics for health care professionals and the public and implements stroke prevention programs.

Each of CHI St. Joseph Health’s Critical Access Hospitals and CHI St. Joseph Health Bellville Hospital is credentialed as a Stroke Support Facility, with a stroke coordinator who oversees the stroke program and ensures that timeframes set by The Joint Commission (an accrediting agency) and the state for lab work, imaging, medications and other care components are met.

“In addition to a medical director and coordinator, each of these programs requires a multi-departmental effort for success, including our lab, pharmacy, nursing leadership, floor and Emergency Department nurses and a representative from EMS to ensure a seamless transition from ambulance to ER team,” said Dr. Kia Parsi, Chief Medical Officer for CHI St. Joseph Health.

“These accreditations signify our effort system-wide to provide the highest standard of stroke care in all the communities we serve.”

About CHI St. Joseph Health: CHI St. Joseph Health has offered an Advanced Primary Stroke Center since 2007 and is the region’s only provider of endovascular treatment, meaning the stroke team is able to treat patients within a larger window of time following onset of symptoms. CHI St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital recently received recognition in the U.S. News and World Report “Best Hospitals” issue for its high level of adherence to achievement, quality guidelines and best practices established by the American Heart Association, American Stroke Association and American College of Cardiology.

[For more information, please contact Director of Marketing and Public Relations Heather Bush at 979-774-2165 or hbush@st-joseph.org.]

Bryan, TX, September 5, 2017—U.S. News and World Report has recognized CHI St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital in its “Best Hospitals” issue for its stroke and cardiac teams’ dedication to achieving the highest standards of care for stroke and heart attack patients. The issue is available on newsstands now.

The listing is tied to recognition Regional received in 2017 for its high level of adherence to achievement and quality guidelines and best practices, established by the American Heart Association, American Stroke Association and American College of Cardiology.

Regional is one of only 1,481 hospitals recognized hospitals nation-wide and the only hospital in the Brazos Valley to make the listing for demonstrating an “unfaltering commitment to providing cardiovascular patients with quality, evidence-based treatment that is the heart of [AHA/ASA] life-saving quality programs.” For more information or to view the full list, please visit https://usnewsbrandfuse.com/AmericanHeartAssociation/2017/index.html.

This year Regional received – for the first time ever – the AHA Mission: Lifeline NSTEMI Bronze Achievement Award for implementing specific AHA quality improvement measures for treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. The program is designed to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks, beginning with the 9-1-1 call and continuing through hospital treatment.

The Cardiac team also earned the ACTION Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award in 2017 for consistently following heart attack treatment guidelines for eight consecutive quarters, meeting a performance standard of 90% for specific performance measures.

“When a patient is suffering a heart attack, timing is critical,” said Dr. Ricardo Gutierrez, Interventional Cardiologist and Medical Director for the CHI St. Joseph Health Cardiovascular Service Line. “The Cardiac teams throughout CHI St. Joseph Health have been working collaboratively to reduce response times and closely adhere to standards set by the AHA and ACC.”

Regional’s recognition in U.S. News and World Report is also due to recognition the stroke team received: Get with the Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award with Target Stroke Honor RollSM Elite. The highest achievement level offered by AHA and ASA, Regional received this award for achieving a consistently high level of adherence with AHA/ASA quality measures for 24 consecutive months and meeting specific quality measures.

The Honor Roll-Elite recognition for stroke recognizes the Regional team for treating stroke patients with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, within 60 minutes in more than 75% of cases.

“Our stroke team strives every day to not only meet but exceed national standards for outstanding care of stroke patients,” said Dr. Brad White, Endovascular Neurosurgeon and Medical Director of Regional’s Advanced Primary Stroke Center. “These achievements signify that CHI St. Joseph Health is a provider patients can trust for expert care.”

Rick Napper, CEO of CHI St. Joseph Health, said the recognition is gratifying but humbling. “The credit goes to our team members who work hard to earn the trust of our patients and families.”

About U.S. News and World Report: U.S. News & World Report is a digital news and information company that empowers people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives.

About The American College of Cardiology: The ACC is a 52,000-member medical society that is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines and operates national registries to measure and improve care and offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions. For more, visit acc.org.

About the American Heart Association/America Stroke Association: The American Heart Association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke, funding innovative research, fighting for stronger public health policies and providing critical tools and information to save and improve lives. The American Stroke Association was created as a division in 1997 to bring together the organization’s stroke-related activities.

About CHI St. Joseph Health: CHI St. Joseph Health offers the region’s only Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI with Resuscitation accreditation from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, the highest accreditation offered by these credentialing agencies. CHI SJH has also offered an Advanced Primary Stroke Center since 2007 and is the region’s only provider of endovascular treatment, meaning the stroke team is able to treat patients within a larger window of time following onset of symptoms.

[For more information, please contact Director of Marketing and Public Relations Heather Bush at 979-774-2165 or hbush@st-joseph.org.]